Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Brakes worse after new pads/rotors

I recently had the front brake pads and rotors on a 1996 Ford Contour 2.5L V6 replaced at a local shop (not a dealer). When I got the car back from the shop, the brake pedal went almost to the floor when applying the brakes (the shop said that I needed a new master cylinder). This did not happen prior to bringing the car into the shop.

Last night, on the way home from work, the retaining clip from the right front wheel fell off. The brakes feel great now.

I searched the forums and found a few threads that mentioned a few things about these clips, but I have a few questions.

1. Is it safe to drive w/o these clips?

2. What is the function of these retaining clips? I have the Haynes repair manual and they don't mention what the these clips are used for. One or two members seem to indicate that they are to prevent the brakes from rattling or shaking. If this is so, then why did they make the brake pedal travel much farther (almost to the floor) than normal?

3. Does anyone know where I can find a description of how to install these clips correctly? The Haynes manual only has a partial picture of the clip.

4. Does anyone know what the part # is for these clips (since I need to replace them)?

Thanks ahead of time for any and all help.

If you talking about the clips that go on over the stud,there just there for assembly line,it holds the rotor on while it goes down the line,some aftermarket wheels wont work with them since it wont let the wheel sit flush with the rotor.
I dont see how it would have fallen off driving home.
This clip has absolutly NOTHING to do with break pedal FEEL!Its just there to keep the rotor from falling off as it goes down the assembly line,after that they could just go in the trash.The wheel will hold the rotor in place just fine when it is installed on the car.
Maybe you should try bleeding your brakes.
If the pedal only does this every so often,then you probably do need a new master cylinder.
Try this,with the car running hold the brake pedal down firmly for a period of time,does it feel like it is going to the floor? Yes=you need a new master cylinder,or bleed the brakes.
Some times when you mess around with the brakes,like putting new pads and rotors on,it can cause a weak componet to give,like the master cylinder.

I think he is talking about the spring clip that is on the outside of the front calipers.
The one that is a son of a gun to get back on.

Yes, I am talking about the "spring clip" (it is called a retaining clip in the Hanynes Manual) on the front brakes.

The spring clips on the calipers are known as anti-rattle clips. That's their only function in life, to stop the rattle of the floating caliper against the fixed portion.

Driving w/o causes no harm but can be annoying when driving over uneven roads, especially cobblestones. You should replace these to make sure you get even pad break-in and wear.

As far as the pedal goes, I think the shop didn't bleed the brakes properly and let some air in causing the spongy feeling. This feeling can also be caused if the shop just simply pushed the piston back w/o doing a brake flush.

According to the shop, the mechanic said that they fully flushed the brakes.

When I found out how bad the brakes were, I brought the car back to them and they checked everything again. They again said that they thought that it was a bad master cylinder.

I agree that there might be air in the lines, but the shop said that they checked everything twice.

I have a hard time believing that it is a master cylinder. Especially since the brake pedal felt fine before bringing the car to the shop. Also, if the master cylinder was bad, then why would the brakes feel fine for the past day?

Also, since the clip/spring fell off, the brakes have worked great consistently. This is what prompted me to ask the questions. That along with the fact that a few threads have pointed to the same fact. If you search for "brakes worse after new ones" posted 06/04/01, and "Brake pedal goes to floor!" posted 09/07/01, you will see that there are a few members that believe that the springs might have something to do with the pedal going to the floor.

For example:

javaContour wrote "I've read a few cases where if the springs that hold the pads in place are not installed correctly, you get similar problems to what you describe."

Also:

AirKnight wrote "Fixed! The clips was not sitting properly, I had them pushing away from the caliper brackets instead of into them brackets!"

If those clips are not properly installed you will have a low brake pedal! It soulds like you have found the problem. Call the shop and have them tow it back (it is unsafe to drive) and fix it properly. I know because I did it once. Fortunately I found and fixed the problem immediately. They owe you big time for this screw up.

I would like to thank everyone for all of their input, but I still have not received answers to the following questions:

What is the function of these retaining clips?

Is it safe to drive w/o these clips? I have gotten answers on both sides of the equation (yes it is safe and no it isn't safe).

Why would putting the clip on the wrong way cause the brake pedal to go almost to the floor?

Once again, thanks ahead of time for any and all help.

1. The clip is an Anti Rattle clip.
2. It is "safe to drive" without it,but the brake pad will rattle, and get worse over time.
3. If the other side is O.K., use that to determine how to put it back.
4. Part #? Don't know.

If the clip was put on wrong, it may of kept the caliper from moving properly. When the clip fell off, it allowed the caliper to move and that may of restored the brake feel.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the function of the retaining clips/springs to keep the pads in position just next to the rotor to act as a self-adjustment feature & also to provide pad-to-rotor wiping action (static; no pressure) for better braking in wet weather???

My recollection of history may be faulty, but didn't Jaguar have a problem with vehicles not being able to stop in wet weather when they first introduced disc brakes on production cars? I think that the fix was the addition of retaining clips as a cure....maybe a change in pad compound??

My $00.02....